<b>Human rights groups welcomed the adoption of the new protocol on torture</b>

Human rights groups welcomed the adoption today by the UN
Economic and Social Council of a new protocol on torture, despite
opposition from the United States and other governments.

Amnesty International, the human rights watchdog group, based in London, in a statement said as above. In its statesment, Amnesty International further states as folllows:

The Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture
will now be sent for adoption by the UN General Assembly later
this year, before being opened for ratification. The Optional
Protocol establishes a system of regular visits to places of
detention by an international body of experts, complemented by
sustained regular visits conducted by national visiting bodies.

A coalition of eleven human rights organizations have
campaigned together in support of the Optional Protocol,
including Amnesty International (AI), Association for the
Prevention of Torture (APT), Human Rights Watch, the
International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the International
Federation of Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture
(Fi.ACAT), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH),
the International League for Human Rights, the International
Service for Human Rights (ISHR), the International Rehabilitation
Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), Redress Trust for Torture
Survivors and the World Organization against Torture (OMCT).

The United States sought to block the adoption of the
draft Optional Protocol by requesting that the text, which was
adopted on 22 April 2002 by the 58th session of the Commission on
Human Rights, be re-opened and subjected to further
consultations. Other countries such as China, Cuba, Egypt, Libya
and Sudan that are traditionally hostile to international human
rights scrutiny also supported the USA proposal. But a majority
of ECOSOC members, including states from South and Central
America, Africa, Asia and Europe, rejected the USA proposal and
voted in support of the current text.

The draft was adopted by a vote of 35 in Favor, with 8
Against and 10 Abstentions.

Human rights organizations welcome the strong show of
support for the Optional Protocol, which would establish an
important new preventive mechanism for combating torture.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the entry into
force of the UN Convention against Torture, yet despite the
universal condemnation of torture it is still widespread and
practiced systematically in many countries.

Human rights organizations urge governments committed to
the fight against torture to rally support for adoption of the
Optional Protocol by the UN General Assembly in the fall, and to
guard against further efforts by hostile governments to obstruct
this initiative.